


Stitching

by etextraordinary



Category: Glee
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-11
Updated: 2013-05-11
Packaged: 2017-12-11 13:37:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/799331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/etextraordinary/pseuds/etextraordinary
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Kurt and Blaine don't see eye-to-eye, is their relationship shattered?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stitching

Kurt slammed the door behind him, vowing never to look back, at least for the next hour. He leaned against the wall outside the apartment, their apartment, for a moment to collect himself; something he hadn’t done since he was being bullied in high school. He pushed himself up off the wall and walked purposefully down the hall and out of the building. Once on the busy street, he continued to storm down the street, anger fueling each step; he was a New Yorker and everyone could get the fuck out of his way, despite the fact that he no longer lived in New York. Kurt kept walking until he reached the park and the zoo.

Kurt looked at all the animals, some stuck in cages less than a tenth the size of their normal habitat, others allowed to roam semi-freely throughout the zoo. Normally walking here inspired Kurt, but not today, today he just felt like one of the animals; caged, trapped, alone. Guilty.

***  
Blaine mopped up all the coffee off the wall and floor, picking up the broken pieces of Kurt’s mug that were thrown across the room. It was Kurt’s favorite one too; one of the original ‘Hummel Tires & Lube’ mugs that Burt had made when they were back in high school. He picked up one of the broken pieces, turning it over in his hand, wishing that he could somehow piece it all back together. This fucking mug had become the symbol for his relationship, and now the only thing he wanted to do was magically return it to the way it was before. But that couldn’t be done.

Blaine felt like he should feel something more, like he should be crying or screaming or anything, but instead he just felt numb. Blaine never noticed when the sharp edge of the ceramic sliced his palm, still turning the piece over in his hands, covering it in blood.

***  
Kurt was jarred from his trance by a siren speeding down the street behind him. He dug his phone out of his pocket and saw that he had been sitting on the bench for almost two hours, and Blaine hadn’t tried to call or text him; not that Kurt was really surprised after the fight they had. But it was time to go back, face Blaine, and try to make everything good again. Kurt felt for his wallet only to realize that he left it at home, along with his keys. “Fuck” he breathed, running a hand through his hair, and starting back home. The park and zoo were only about a mile and a half from their apartment, but it seemed like each step was a mile, and with each block closer to home Kurt got, the more he dreaded going home.

Kurt trudged up the front steps to his apartment building, grateful that their lazy landlord hadn’t ever gotten around to fixing the lock on the front door, and if you jiggled the handle just right, it would open without a key. When he reached the apartment door, Kurt paused, he wasn’t sure he really wanted to face Blaine right now, but he also knew he had to. It had long been their ideal to never let the sun set on an argument, and this silence had gone on long enough. Kurt reached for the doorknob, hoping that Blaine hadn’t gone out and locked him out of their apartment.

When the knob turned, Kurt breathed a sigh of relief, despite not wanting to face the fight he knew was coming, the door being open meant Blaine hadn’t left since he stormed out two and a half hours earlier. What Kurt wasn’t expecting to see when he walked in was blood, everywhere.

Blaine was looking at the door in confusion as Kurt walked inside, then looked down at his hand, surprised to see it covered in blood. Kurt was frozen in place, Blaine’s hands were covered in blood and it was dripping on to the table where his father’s coffee mug lay.

“Oh my god, Blaine, what happened?” Kurt whispered.

Blaine looked up at him, a sad confused look in his eyes, raising the broken piece of mug, “Your dad’s mug broke.”

Kurt realized Blaine had no idea what he’d done and was in shock. He quickly turned, walking to the sink and getting two clean towels out of the drawer. He wet one and brought it over to the table where Blaine was sitting. He gently took the piece of mug out of Blaine’s hands and started to wipe the blood off his hand with the wet towel.

Blaine looked down at his hands and muttered over and over, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

Kurt shushed him the best he could, while silently freaking out that his boyfriend was bleeding to death at their kitchen table. Kurt’s mind naturally raced to the worst possible consequences- what if he hadn’t come back when he did, what if Blaine had cut his arm instead of palm, what if Blaine had accidently lodged the mug-shard in his heart and died. Of course it was ridiculous, but Kurt was worried about Blaine, despite the fight, he loved Blaine.

Once Kurt cleaned most of the blood off, he could see the deep gash in Blaine’s left hand. He wrapped the second towel around Blaine’s hand, putting pressure on the cut. “Blaine, I think you need to go to the hospital,” Kurt used the most gentle tone he was able to given the panic that was rising in his chest.

“No, I need to fix the mug. It’s broken and it’s your favorite.” Blaine’s jaw cracked as he yawned mid-sentence.

Kurt was not able to keep calm any longer, in a rushed voice he said, “Blaine, you’re bleeding. You have a deep cut on your hand. You need to go to the hospital. You need stitches. I’m going to get my car keys and we are leaving. Now.”

Blaine was foggy. Kurt picked up his other hand and placed it firmly over his cut. Blaine was struggling to hold the towel to his hand.

“Blaine, I need you to hold the towel so I can get our things,” Kurt said in a soft but firm voice. It must have worked, because when Kurt placed Blaine’s other hand over his cut, he held it there more firmly. Kurt quickly raced into the bedroom, grabbing both his and Blaine’s wallet and his car keys before putting on his coat and grabbing Blaine’s. When he got back to the kitchen, Blaine was standing next to the door, looking like he was ready to go. Kurt helped him put on his coat before ushering him out the door and into the car.

***  
Inside, the emergency room was organized chaos. There were nurses hurrying back and forth and tons of people milling around, others sitting impatiently in the waiting area. Kurt ushered Blaine up to the desk to check in. The volunteer working at the desk looked alarmed at how much blood had seeped through the thick towel wrapped around Blaine’s hand. She asked the basic intake questions: name, age, date of birth. Blaine was able to answer all of the questions, but when asked about insurance, he just looked at Kurt, who had already pulled out Blaine’s wallet and was handing the woman his card.

Kurt braced himself for the final question he knew was coming: ‘What happened?’ It was the one question he wasn’t able to answer, and wasn’t sure Blaine was either. Kurt had been rehearsing the answer most of the drive, “He cut himself on a piece of coffee mug. I wasn’t home when he did it, and I have no idea how long he has been bleeding; but there was a lot of blood on the table.”

This answer seemed sufficient, and she called a nurse over, filling her in, a worried look appearing on her face. The nurse led them down to an exam room and told Blaine to sit on the table. She put on gloves and carefully took the bloody towel off of Blaine’s hand, replacing it with gauze, while checking Blaine’s vitals. Blaine’s eyes were drooping, and he was having a hard time sitting up. Kurt motioned that he was going to sit on the bed, before moving to help prop Blaine up.

She turned to Kurt, “Here’s some more gauze; when one starts to get bloody, replace it with a clean one. I am going to get a doctor so he can stitch Blaine’s hand and check him out. I’ll be back shortly.”

Once she was out of the room, Kurt put his arm around Blaine holding him close. Kurt replaced Blaine’s hand holding the gauze and held his uninjured hand. “What happened?”

Blaine blinked sleepily before he turned to look at Kurt, a looking a little bit lost. “I was cleaning up after you threw the mug across the room. There were pieces everywhere. Looking at them, I realized that it could never be fixed, there were too many pieces. Even if we glued them back together, it would never hold coffee again. I was worried that we couldn’t be fixed.”

Blaine started crying, tears dripping out of his eyes; Kurt used his thumbs to wipe the tears away. “We’re not broken, just not on the same page. We’ll work it out.” Kurt gave Blaine his most encouraging smile, but underneath, he wondered if maybe Blaine wasn’t right about them.

***  
When the doctor came in a few minutes later, Blaine’s head was resting on Kurt’s shoulder and he was half asleep. The doctor removed the gauze from Blaine’s hand, and numbed it before cleaning the cut. The nurse came back with the sutures and they very quickly had fixed the cut and had it bandaged.

Blaine was watching them work the whole time they were fixing his hand. When the doctor asked how he got the cut, Blaine said: “I cut it on a piece of broken coffee mug.”

“How long were you bleeding?”

“I’m not sure, I was in shock. I didn’t even know I was bleeding until Kurt came home.” Blaine looked at Kurt, a sad broken look on his face.

“Alright, well you seem fairly coherent. We are still concerned about the unknown amount of blood you lost. We would like to keep you here for a couple hours of observation and see if any additional signs appear.”

“Will he need to be here overnight?” Kurt asked the doctor.

“No, I think just two or three hours. You’ll be home in time to get the turkey ready for tomorrow. I think you are going to be fine, Blaine. But we just want to be sure. The nurse will be coming in every half hour to check your vitals. If you would like to get some sleep, I can have the nurse bring you a blanket.”

Blaine nodded and smiled at the doctor. The nurse went to get it and the doctor filled out some information on Blaine’s chart before leaving the room. Blaine snuggled down on his side, scooting to the far edge of the narrow bed, trying to make room for Kurt.

Kurt smiled, “Why don’t you just get some sleep, I don’t think there is enough room for both of us to rest comfortably on that bed.” He got up to pull the chair out from the corner. When he sat back down, the look in Blaine’s eyes was enough to cause tears to well in Kurt’s eyes. He looked so sad and broken.

“Kurt.” Blaine pleaded, “Kiss me?”

It broke Kurt’s heart to see Blaine like this, so unsure of everything; normally Blaine was so sure of everything he did. Kurt leaned over, placing his hand on Blaine’s cheek, stroking gently, before lowering his lips down to brush against Blaine’s. It was a chaste kiss, but so full of emotion, it made Kurt long for more. But it was not the time or place for that; Blaine needed to get some sleep. Kurt pulled back, taking Blaine’s uninjured hand and settling into the chair.

He stroked his hand back and forth while Blaine slept; trying to figure out why they had a fight this morning and when exactly everything went off track. They had been fighting more and more recently, really ever since they moved from New York to Chicago six months ago. They had decided to go because Kurt had been offered a great position as a set designer at a local theater company, where Blaine was currently rehearsing for the lead in the Christmas variety show.

They were not exactly working together, but it seemed like they had never found a new groove here. Everything was just slightly off kilter. Maybe it was just that the whole city was still new, after spending seven years together in New York. Kurt found his thoughts wandering to the first apartment they shared in New York.

***  
 _“Our first apartment” Blaine said excitedly bouncing slightly on his toes._

_“Yes, it’s smaller than my closet in Lima, smells funny, and its in Brooklyn. But yes, our first apartment.” Kurt’s sarcasm was lost in the fact that he couldn’t be happier to finally have his own place with Blaine. He was tired of sharing an apartment with Rachel and her giggling girlfriends from her job at Victoria’s Secret._

_Blaine wrapped his arms around Kurt’s waist from behind, hugging him. “But there is lots of natural light, there is some closet space, and we have a full-size fridge. I know it’s not a very large apartment, but we have it all to ourselves.” Blaine spun them around so they were facing the bedroom and the large pile of boxes. “No one else to hear us. We can do whatever we want.”_

_Kurt spun around in Blaine’s arms, “Oh, really? Whatever we want? Is there something in particular you had in mind?”_

_Blaine’s breath ghosted against Kurt’s lips, “Whatever we want.” Blaine leaned in and pressed his lips to Kurt’s. He slid his hands down Kurt’s back to firmly grip his ass and pull him closer. Kurt pulled away after a long minute._

_“As much as I like the direction you’re going, I think we should at least get the bed set up first, so when we do take this a little further” Kurt ran the back his hand down the front of Blaine’s pants to accentuate his point, “we have a comfortable place to take it to.”_

_Blaine kissed Kurt once more before pulling back and going into the bedroom to start setting up their bed. Kurt grabbed two water bottles out of the fridge before going to help him._

_Two hours and many curse words later, the bed was finally put together, and all the furniture was arranged in the tiny bedroom. It was barely big enough for a double bed and the extra large dresser Kurt insisted upon, saying: ‘Blaine, there isn’t enough closet space for both of our large wardrobes, and I am not letting you just fold your nice shirts. We need someplace to put sweaters and socks and underwear.’ As much as he protested, Kurt knew that Blaine knew he was right, and of course he picked a very stylish and modern giant dresser. What should Blaine have expected, his boyfriend was the top interior design student at Parsons._

_Blaine pushed Kurt down on the freshly made bed, kissing him hard. Kurt tangled his fingers in Blaine’s ungelled hair, pulling back from the kiss. “We should shower, we’re all dirty.”_

_“But we’re just going to get sweaty and sticky again, no sense in showering now.” Blaine kissed Kurt’s neck, pushing his shirt off his shoulder slightly so he could suck at Kurt’s collarbone. Kurt thrust his hips up into Blaine…_

***  
Kurt was jarred from his memory by the nurse walking into the room. Kurt looked down at Blaine’s hand, smiling as the memory of their first night in their New York apartment faded away. The nurse checked the bandages on Blaine’s hand, nodding slightly. She checked his temperature, pulse, blood pressure, before turning to Kurt and saying, “He is doing well. He has a slight fever, but that’s normal. I’m going to go give the doctor an update, but I think she will want to keep him here for a little longer, but he is looking better.”

Kurt smiled and thanked her. He turned back to Blaine, who was still asleep and asked, more to himself than anyone else, “Why?”

Blaine opened his eyes; they were clear and sad. “Because, I love you.”

The tears that had been threatening to fall all afternoon escaped and Kurt dropped his head, silently sobbing. Blaine gripped Kurt’s hand, which was still laced with his.

“Come here.” Blaine scooted as far over on the small bed as he could. Kurt climbed up into the bed, facing Blaine, careful not to hurt his injured hand. Blaine wrapped his arm around Kurt, pulling him close and holding him to his chest. Kurt cried into Blaine’s chest. Blaine ran his good hand up and down Kurt’s spine.

Blaine kissed Kurt’s hair and whispered, “Do you remember that time in your senior year at Parsons that you were really sick?”

Kurt looked up at Blaine, “You mean when I had the flu and was trying to finish my senior portfolio, apply for jobs, and work at the theater?”

“Yeah. I remember the first day you were sick, I came home from rehearsal late, because the director had wanted to discuss some of the changes I wanted to make to the play…

***  
 _Blaine walked into the apartment calling out, “Kurt, I’m home. Sorry I’m late. Dr. Wasserman wanted to discuss some of the changes I suggested about the play.” Blaine toed off his shoes, set down his bag. Looking up he didn’t see Kurt anywhere in the kitchen/dining room/living room/office that their largest room had become. “Kurt?”_

_Blaine heard muffled coughing coming from the bedroom, he walked in to see Kurt buried in blankets, slumped over on his side, trying to piece together swatches of fabric and paint chips for his senior portfolio._

_“What are you doing?”_

_“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m trying to finish my portfolio.” Kurt sounded like he was sick, really sick._

_“Yes, but why are you in here?” As Blaine walked closer to the bed, he could see that Kurt had a mountain of tissues around him, and quite a few empty mugs of tea._

_Kurt looked up, his eyes were bloodshot and his nose was bright red. “Sitting at the desk was making me dizzy, so I figured laying down would help.”_

_“Kurt,” Blaine rested one hand on his shoulder and put his wrist up to Kurt’s forehead, “I think you have a fever. You’re sick. You should be sleeping.”_

_Kurt was looking down at his project, “No time to sleep, gotta finish this project so I can practice my presentation.”_

_Blaine grabbed the three-ring binder containing Kurt’s project from his hands, earning a shocked glare from Kurt. “No. You are sick, if you keep working, not only will you just get sicker, you are going to get your entire committee sick too; and I bet they won’t pass you if they catch the plague from your project.”_

_“But…”_

_“No buts. You are sick, Kurt. I am going to get you some medicine then we are going to sleep.”_

_Kurt tried to protest, but Blaine had already walked out of the room. When he returned, Kurt was mostly asleep. Blaine handed him the pills, then went to clean the dishes before crawling into bed with Kurt. Blaine spooned up behind Kurt, and held him close despite Kurt’s protests that he would get sick too._

***  
“God, I was so sick. I have never been so sick in my entire life.”

Blaine smiled at him, “You were pretty sick. But if I remember correctly, that was the first time you said you wanted to marry me.”

“Ugh, did you have to remind me?”

“Its adorable. You know what they say, when you are drunk your true personality comes through, and its good to know that you want to marry me deep down.”

Kurt gently smacked him in the arm, “You are such a dork.”

“You love me.” Blaine said, but as soon as the words left his mouth, a wave of uncertainty crashed over him: what if Kurt no longer wants to marry me?

Kurt saw the doubt cross his face and kissed him soundly. “I do love you, with my whole heart.”

“I love you too.”

They laid there in silence for a while, hands gently stroking and occasionally brushing kisses on cheeks, noses, eyes, and lips. Blaine eventually said, “Kurt? Could you get me some water, I’m really thirsty.”

“Of course. I’ll be right back.” Kurt kissed his lips one last time before getting off of the bed and going to find a bottle of water. While he was out of the room, he figured it was an ok time to turn his phone back on and check messages and email. Kurt went down to the nurse’s station and asked where he might find a water bottle, and she pointed to the vending machine at the end of the hallway. Kurt got a bottle of water for Blaine and a Starbucks Frappuccino for himself, and headed back to the waiting area to quickly read his emails.

Thankfully there weren’t too many emails, a couple of people inquiring about his design services and one from the theater about the set changes for the Christmas show. There was just one email left, the one Kurt was hoping wasn’t there, from Shawn.

_Hi Kurt,_

_I really like the design you sent over for the show. I have just one minor change, I was wondering if we could make it more like a chalet, and less like a country cottage. I want it to have more of an ‘escape from real life for the holidays’ feeling than a ‘down-home country Christmas’, you know what I mean? I hope it doesn’t mess with all your hard work too much. Everything you do is wonderful, and I am positive that you will create something phenominal!_

_S_

_PS-I can’t wait to see you and Blaine tomorrow for Thanksgiving! I’m still on for the cranberries right?_

“Fuck,” Kurt muttered under his breath. Of course he hadn’t forgotten about the Thanksgiving invitation; that would have made life so much easier. Kurt was fairly convinced that it was Shawn’s goal in life to make Kurt’s life more difficult. Just reading the email made Kurt feel guilty. Kurt had invited him over for the holiday before consulting with Blaine, and Blaine didn’t like Shawn at all. Blaine never gave a firm reason, it was always the same story about how Shawn just ‘rubbed him the wrong way’. Shawn was the cause of their fight earlier, and the reason that Blaine was in a hospital bed, with twelve stitches in the palm of his hand. He turned off his phone without responding and hurried back to Blaine’s hospital room.

When Kurt finally made it back to Blaine’s bed, the doctor was there giving Blaine care instructions for his hand and telling him to take it easy for the next few days. Kurt leaned up against the doorframe and smiled at the thought of Blaine taking it easy. Blaine was constantly dancing and moving around the apartment, the only time he was still when he was asleep. Blaine looked up at the noise and smiled at Kurt.

“The nurse will be in in a few minutes to have you sign your discharge papers. I’ll have her print out all of the care instructions and walk through them with you and your partner.” She turned to look at Kurt and waited for him to join Blaine sitting on the bed. “I know it’s a lot to remember after we’ve given you pain meds.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” Kurt said, reaching out to shake her hand. “Is there anything special I need to know tonight?”

“Just be sure to get the pain prescriptions filled and the stitches need to stay dry. For showering, be sure to wrap his hand in a bag. All of this is on the care sheet, and the nurse line is always there to answer any questions you have. Or you can call me.” She handed Kurt her business card before walking out of the room.

“Thank you again.” Turning to Blaine, Kurt said, “Ready to go home?”

“Yeah. Can you help me put my shoes on? I don’t think I can do up the laces without using my hand.”

Kurt touched Blaine’s arm and said, “Of course, honey.” He bent over and gently put each of the shoes on Blaine’s feet and tied them up.

Blaine reached down and cupped Kurt’s cheek in his hand. “The last time you were on your knees between my legs, the outcome was very different.”

For the first time, in what felt like forever, Kurt laughed. Kurt knew it was the meds talking, but he rested his head on Blaine’s knee and laughed for a long time. Soon, Blaine was laughing too, hard, body-shaking laughs. Every time they looked at each other, they set the other off again and were laughing. By the end of it, there were tears leaking out of their eyes. Eventually Kurt was able to stop laughing, wiping his eyes. He stood, wiped the tears from Blaine’s eyes and kissed him; slow, yet firm, as if he was trying to show just through this one movement exactly how much he loved Blaine. Blaine wrapped his arm around Kurt’s neck and gently stroked the hair at the base of Kurt’s neck.

When they finally broke apart, Kurt held Blaine’s gaze for a long minute before whispering in his ear, “I love you so much. I’m sorry.”

Blaine looked like he might start crying again; he pulled Kurt forward into a near bone-crushing hug, and whispered back, “I’m sorry too. I love you, Kurt.”

Eventually Kurt pulled back, misty eyes matching Blaine’s and said, “Let’s go home”. He helped Blaine to his feet, helped him put his jacket on, and went to the nurse to get the care information.

Finally, almost forty-five minutes later, after spending at least fifteen minutes searching for the car, Blaine teasing Kurt the whole time and Kurt responding with his bitchiest of bitch glares, they made it home, with a large box of gauze, medical tape and Blaine’s two different prescriptions. Kurt opened the door and let Blaine in first, nearly running into him when he tried to go through the door. Blaine was in the middle of the doorway, staring at the kitchen table, covered in blood-his blood, dry against the wood of the table and where it dripped on to the floor. As soon as Kurt realized why he’d stopped, he turned Blaine around to face him and started to unbutton his coat.

“I can do it!” Blaine responded, more harshly than he meant to.

“I know you can, but I want to help you. Why don’t you go order whatever take out you’d like, and I’ll clean up the kitchen.”

Blaine sighed and nodded, squeezing Kurt’s hand before going into the living room to order dinner.

Kurt’s feet were glued to the spot. He surveyed the mess of the kitchen. The table was covered in blood, almost entirely dry. There was a small spot on the floor where it dripped down, and blood-soaked towels on the table and one on the floor where it was thrown in his rush to get Blaine to the hospital. Sitting in the middle of the table, where it was left hours earlier, was the piece of mug that Blaine cut himself on. Kurt forced himself into action, moving to get a roll of paper towel and surface cleaner to start on the mess.

Kurt looked up when the table was almost clean, feeling Blaine’s eyes on his back. Blaine was leaning against the doorframe, looking sad and small like he did earlier at the hospital. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, barely loud enough to be heard, more of just an exhale.

Kurt moved quickly, taking off his gloves and moving into Blaine’s personal space. He pulled Blaine into a hug, stroking his hair and saying, “You have nothing to be sorry for. Nothing at all. I’m the one who should be apologizing to you; I threw the mug and stormed out like a five-year-old. I was immature and I’m sorry.”

“No...”

“Yes. Storming out after throwing a hot mug of coffee is not a mature thing to do. That’s the kind of thing kids do when they can’t have pizza for breakfast.”

Blaine smiled, “I can’t believe Burt let you have hot coffee as a five-year-old.”

Kurt smiled back, “Can we just table the discussion for tonight? Just cuddle and watch a movie? I was really scared when I came home and saw the blood everywhere. I thought something so much worse had happened. And I am so glad it didn’t. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

Blaine pulled Kurt’s head down to his shoulder, “Yeah, I think that’s a good idea. The Thai food should be here any minute.”

“Did you get drunken noodles?”

“Yep, and curry fried rice, spring rolls, and some satay.”

“Why don’t you go pick a movie,” Kurt said smiling, “I just want to finish cleaning up in here. Like three more minutes.”

Kurt turned around, putting his gloves back on, and went back to scrubbing the table clean. Blaine watched him for a minute before heading back into the living room to put the movie in the Blue-Ray player. Kurt paid for the food when it arrived and then joined Blaine in the living room, sitting on the couch, snuggled in to Blaine’s side. Blaine pushed play and the familiar music started.

“Again?”

“It’s my favorite, and it’s a classic. Besides I always thought you said Daniel Radcliffe was hot?”

“He is hot. But we’ve watched _Goblet of Fire_ at least 500 times.”

“That’s because it’s the best.”

Kurt sighed and snuggled a little closer before grabbing his plate.

***  
Kurt woke up to an odd buzzing sound. He groped around where the nightstand would be without opening his eyes. When his hand didn’t find the table, he opened his eyes and blinked blearily; he was not in the bedroom, he was on the couch, and Blaine was laying on him. The buzzing started again, and Kurt grabbed his phone off the coffee table, and of course it was dead. Kurt tried to sit up, only to realize that Blaine was sleeping entirely on top of him, his injured hand cradled against Kurt’s chest. That’s when Kurt remembered the fight, the trip to the ER, the panic when he saw his Blaine bleeding.

Kurt shook Blaine’s shoulder. “Blaine you need to get up. I’ve got to answer the door.”

Blaine groaned and mumbled in his sleep; Kurt shook him again before Blaine woke up, blinking sleepily at Kurt, “Mmm, Mornin’ ‘urt.”

“Morning, Blaine. Can you get up? I gotta get the door.” Blaine shifted, accidently putting pressure on his injured palm and hissed loudly. Kurt instantly snapped into caretaker mode, “Are you ok?”

Blaine’s face was twisted in pain, “Yeah.”

“We still need to get up, someone’s at the door.” Blaine nodded and started moving off Kurt, careful not to put any pressure on his inured palm.

When they were finally up, Blaine pulled Kurt into a quick kiss before heading to the bathroom, and Kurt went to buzz in whoever was at the door. Thankfully it was his Dad, Carole, Finn, and his family. There were hugs all around, and Carole asked why Kurt was still in his PJs, which Kurt doesn’t remember changing into. Blaine shuffled into the room, blinking in confusion at the additional bodies and commotion. Finn’s twins launched themselves at Blaine’s legs, nearly knocking him over. Once they were pried off, Blaine gave Burt, Carole, and Finn each a hug.

“What happened to your hand, son?” Burt asked.

Blaine looked down at the gauze, “Oh, I cut it on a broken coffee mug yesterday. I had to get stitches.”

Finn’s son added, “Cool! Can I see it?”

“Maybe later, bud,” Finn said.

“What needs to be done, Kurt? You look like you could use a shower.” Carole said, Kurt was grateful for the subject change.

“Um… I think just about everything. The turkey is in the fridge, then we need to make the stuffing, and potatoes, and apple pie and pumpkin pie.” Kurt groaned after he realized how much he had to do, and all the people that were going to be in his apartment in a few short hours.

“Ok, you guys go get clean and I’ll get started. Burt and Finn will watch the kids.” Kurt opened his mouth to say something, “Don’t worry about it, whatever it is. I’ll take care of everything for the next half hour.”

“Thanks, Carole.”

Blaine took Kurt’s hand and tugged him back into their bedroom, then into the bathroom, “Come on. We should shower, and I’m going to need you to help me.”

“Blaine Devon Anderson, I am not showering with you while my parents and brother and niece and nephew are in my kitchen!”

Blaine bit back a laugh, “I’m not going to be able to shampoo my hair, let alone condition it and wash myself with a plastic bag over my hand. You’re going to have to help me, and it’ll be a lot easier if we just shared the shower.”

Kurt stopped dead in his tracks, sighed before saying, “You’re loving this, aren’t you.”

“No… yes. I hate that I cut my hand and have stitches and can’t do anything. But I’m never going to complain about getting to see you naked.” Blaine pressed a firm kiss to Kurt’s lips.

Kurt smiled into the kiss, “Fine.” Then pulled back and added playfully, “Does that mean I get to strip you?”

Blaine nodded and lifted his hands.

***  
When Kurt and Blaine stepped out of the shower, Cooper was in their room waiting for them. “Oh, that’s what took you two so long. You were _showering together_.”

“It’s not like that, Coop.” Blaine raised his hand to show the fresh gauze.

“Sure it isn’t,” Coop called as he walked towards the door, “I’ll see you in a minute, Squirt.”

Kurt and Blaine dressed quickly, not trusting Coop to stay out of trouble for long. Kurt pressed a quick kiss to Blaine’s lips, drawing him into a tight hug before they both headed out to deal with the craziness of Thanksgiving.

When Kurt got back to the kitchen, the turkey was well on its way, the pies were in the oven and the potatoes were being chopped so they could be boiled when the meal was closer. “Thanks so much for your help, Carole. This wasn’t the plan at all. I was hoping to have everything done so you and Dad could just relax.”

“I know you were, sweetie. But sometimes it just doesn’t work out that way.” Carole bumped Kurt’s hip with her side, “What happened to Blaine’s hand yesterday?”

“He cut it on a broken mug.”

“I know that isn’t the whole story,” Carole said, not expecting anything, just letting Kurt know that she knew.

“We got into an argument. I threw the mug against the wall and it shattered, then I stormed out. While I was gone, Blaine cut his hand on the shards. I feel terrible.”

“Oh, Kurt.” Carole pulled him into a careful hug, “I’m sure Blaine knows and forgives you.”

“Yeah.” Kurt nodded. He heard the sound of someone knocking on the door and Blaine opening it. When Kurt heard the greeting from the next room, he muttered under his breath, “Fuck.”

“Blaine! It’s so good to see you? What happened to your hand? I hope that hasn’t hurt your voice, because I need you to be superb next week! Now where is that adorable boyfriend of yours?” Shawn called loudly.

“What was that?” Carole asked honestly.

“Uh, nothing. I’m going to go see who arrived and greet them.” Kurt was out of the room before he heard Carole’s response.

When Kurt got to the front door, Blaine was shooting icy daggers at him, but smiling kindly at their guest. The way Blaine’s voice became subtlety icy, enough for Kurt to recognize it but not anyone else was just an additional dagger in Kurt’s heart. “Kurt, look who’s here.”

Kurt gave Blaine an apologetic glance before plastering on a smile, “Shawn! It’s so good to see you! I’m so glad you were able to make it. Can I take your coat?”

Shawn handed Blaine the ceramic pot of cranberry sauce in order to give Kurt his coat. “Thanks for having me!” He slung an arm around Kurt’s shoulder, “How far have you gotten on the changes I emailed you yesterday? I was thinking that I didn’t really want all the dead animals that come with having a chalet, so could we do a modern New York loft holiday, classy, but with refined touches? All the decorations in one or two colors and then comfortable leather furniture? Yeah, I think that would be good. Oh, hey, we could just borrow your living room set, that’s exactly what I’m looking for!”

Kurt felt dirty, the arm around his shoulder felt wrong. The heavy weight of it brought back the entire fight with Blaine.

_Kurt was sitting at the kitchen table reading a magazine when Blaine finally got up. He poured himself a cup of coffee before joining him at the table._

_“Why are you so far away?” Kurt asked._

_Blaine laughed, it was so happy. “I’m sitting in the chair, how much closer do you want me?”_

_Kurt pouted slightly, Blaine smiled, getting up to move into Kurt’s lap. “Is this better?”_

_Kurt smiled, leaning forward to press a kiss to Blaine’s lips, “Yes” he breathed into the kiss. Blaine put his coffee down of the table before pulling Kurt into a deeper kiss. They stayed that way for a long time, enjoying each other’s company. The quiet before the storm that would be having both of their families and some friends over for Thanksgiving._

_Eventually, Blaine pulled back and took a sip of his coffee, “So what’s the plan?”_

_“Well, Dad, Carole, and Finn with kids will be here tomorrow morning. When is Cooper getting here?”_

_“His flight gets in this evening, but he was planning on going to some show tonight, so he’ll just come over in the morning. Who else is coming?”_

_“Well, Molly and David from work are going to be here. Oh, and Shawn said he could come too.”_

_Blaine’s soft gaze turned cold instantly, “I thought we agreed that we weren’t going to invite him?”_

_“I had to, Blaine. He was standing right there when I invited Molly and David.”_

_“Why didn’t you wait for another time to ask them then? You know how much I dislike him.”_

_“I don’t understand why though, he’s good at what he does.” Kurt was slightly defensive, he wanted Blaine to see his point, but he didn’t want this to turn into a big fight._

_“Of course you don’t see it. You’re completely oblivious!”_

_“I am not!”_

_“You are.” Blaine said firmly, “You never see the way he hangs on you and flirts with you. You have never asked him to stop. You can’t even see how jealous and hurt it makes me.”_

_“That’s cause he doesn’t flirt with me! I would know if someone were flirting with me!” Kurt shouted at Blaine._

_“No, its cause you like it. You like when people flirt with you. Like the waiter last weekend, and the cute barista at Starbucks, or hell, our director!” Blaine was shouting now too, he needed space. He got off of Kurt’s lap, and started pacing around the kitchen._

_“Its because you’re oversensitive. They aren’t flirting with me. They are just being friendly. Why can’t you see that you’re the only one for me!” Kurt’s shout lost the soft touch that his words might have had otherwise._

_“Because you don’t act like it! You act like every little bit of attention a stranger sends your way is like water to a dying man! I’m right here, I’ve been right here, I’ll always be here.” Blaine’s argument was losing steam, tears were threatening to fall._

_“Then show me! Flirt with me, show me how much you care in public!” Kurt hit a nerve, he knew that Blaine wasn’t a big fan of PDA._

_“You don’t get it do you?”_

_“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that.”_

_“Yeah, you did Kurt.” Blaine turned to walk out of the kitchen._

_His action just enraged Kurt more, “Don’t walk away from me!”_

_“I’m not talking to you right now, you’re being unfair.”_

_“God damn it, Blaine.” Kurt picked up his coffee mug and whipped it at the wall. It hit with a sickening crash and shattered. Kurt turned to storm out the door, letting it slam in his wake._

***  
“Kurt!” Shawn said, “Where’d you go?”

“Huh? Oh, sorry. I’m just distracted. I need to get back into the kitchen and check on the dinner.”

“Sounds good, I’ll just go mingle and make friends.” Shawn flashed him a seductive smile and went to talk to Cooper.

Kurt turned around to see Blaine standing in the doorway, looking shattered. He shook his head and headed towards their bedroom. Kurt glanced after him before stopping in the kitchen to check in with Carole.

“How is everything coming in here?”

“Good. We’re about an hour away.”

“Do you need me to do anything?”

She turned around, “I think we’re good. Why don’t you go take care of whatever’s got you worked up.”

Kurt smiled at her, grateful that she knew him so well. “Thanks.” Kurt gave her a kiss on the cheek.

He knocked on the closed bedroom door before opening it and entering the room. Blaine was sitting on their bed, just staring off into space.

“Blaine?” Kurt sat down next to him, his hand hovered over Blaine’s back, but didn’t put his hand down.

“Is this it, then?” Blaine’s voice was broken.

“Is what it?”

“Us? Is this the end? Are you leaving me for Shawn?”

Kurt gasped, “No, Blaine, no!” He took Blaine’s chin in his hands and turned his face to look in his eyes. Blaine looked broken, like a shell of a person. “You’re it for me. I love you and I only ever want to be with you. Shawn is my boss, and he’s kinda annoying, but he’s my boss so I have to put up with him. His flirting means nothing to me, I only ever think about you!”

Tears were leaking out of Blaine’s eyes as he said, “But what were you fanticising about earlier? Right after he was draped all over you?”

Kurt looked down and Blaine shifted away from him, bracing himself for the bad news, “I was thinking about our fight yesterday, about how wrong I was, how wrong I am. I’m sorry, Blaine. I didn’t realize he bothered you so much. I’ll say something, right now if that’s what you mean. I only want to be with you. Forever.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I am.” Kurt leaned in to kiss Blaine.

“Then let’s do it.” Blaine looked hopeful.

“Do what?”

“Let’s get married. I want to be with you forever, you want to be with me forever. Why don’t we just do it?”

“Blaine, we can’t just decide that we’re going to get married? You have to propose, and then there is the engagement, and planning a wedding is a lot of work.”

“You proposed to me years ago, and have proposed numerous times since, and so have I.”

Kurt just blinked. Blaine nodded his head, making a decision. He slid off the bed and kneeled in front of Kurt.

“Kurt, I love you. You’re forever for me. Will you marry me?”

Kurt’s hand involuntarily flew to his mouth. “I don’t know what to say. Yes, of course, yes.”

Blaine surged up to kiss Kurt, his hand twining in his hair. Blaine deepened the kiss, which quickly turned heated. Kurt pulled back, running his fingers through Blaine’s curls.

“How does that happen? We went from fighting to engaged in 24 hours.”

Blaine kissed him again, “Because our fight was about whether or not we are forever. We are.”

“We are.”

***  
Dinner went smoothly, everyone enjoyed it. After they had pie and were enjoying wine and playing Apples to Apples, Blaine made the announcement, “Kurt and I have something we want to tell you. It’s a very recent development, in the last few hours or so.”

Blaine pulled Kurt up to stand next to him, his injured hand wrapped around Kurt’s back, “We wanted you to be the first to know that we’re engaged!”

Burt was the first person to jump up and give both of them a hug, smashing Blaine’s injured hand in the process. Everyone got up and hugged them in turn. Shawn was the last person to congratulate them, he said, “I really hope you two are happy. You are the most perfect couple I’ve ever seen, I wish my partner and I were as loving and sweet as you two are.”

“Your partner?” Kurt asked.

“Yeah, he’s a professor at U of I, we don’t get to see each other very often, but he’s perfect.”

Blaine smiled and asked, “How long have you been together?”

“Eight years.”

Kurt smiled, “Exactly as long as we’ve been together.”

“Well, congratulations. I better get going, John should be done with the football game soon.”

“Thanks, Shawn.” Blaine said. Blaine turned his head into Kurt’s shoulder and whispered, “I’m sorry.”

Kurt kissed his temple, “I’m sorry too.”  



End file.
